Everything appraisers need to get high-fee, non-lender work

Customize your homepage with text that makes you stand out

If you're still using the pre-built content on your XSite from a few years ago, or even last month, you need to take about 15 minutes to customize it.

Why

It's important:

When people visit your site, they need to know instantly why you're better than the appraiser a few clicks away. They won't know if you don't tell them.

Google loves unique content. Our Ghostwriter will handle this for the "secondary pages," but your home page is really the one that matters.

It's easy. Our XSites editor is as simple as writing a letter in Word.

What

Think about it before diving in:

What are your coverage areas?

Do you provide specialty services that people need to know about — for instance, maybe you like pre-listing appraisals, or are considered to be an expert witness.

What makes you better than the other guys? Are you completely paperless and faster? Do you have specialized training? Have you been in business for a few decades?

What do you want your XSite visitors to do next? Would you rather them call you or order online? Should they look at your fees page before calling?

Do you have accreditations that you'd like to link to?

Listing your coverage areas and your services on your homepage are two of the most important things to have there. They're also really easy to add.

How

It's easy to edit your homepage inside your XSite:

Log in to the Admin area of your XSite and open the XSite Wizard from the XSite button at the top.

Select My Content (Step 6) from the left navigation.

Click the link that says Home.

In the Page Content window click Blank Page. (This gets rid of the default text which is highly important for this page.)

In this window also, give a title to your list like: Service Area, Coverage Area, Services Offered, Types of Appraisals, etc.

Click the Bullet List icon and just start typing. Include the counties you cover (with the word "county" next to each one). Add a second list with your specialties and any type of work that you want more of: Divorce, Estate, Tax Appeal, etc.

Click Save and Close and that's it!

If you're struggling with what to say, just draft up an e-mail to a friend explaining why your firm is the one they should choose. Don't worry about the perfect phrasing. Just be specific and real. Then take that content and paste it into your XSites editor.

In a future assignment, we'll talk about sprucing up your home page with images and buttons. For now just getting the text changed will have a huge impact.

Have a great week and let us know if you have any questions.

Angi Stepp, Product Coach

Marketing 101 for appraisers

These are excellent articles about basic marketing tactics and concepts. We talk about the difference between marketing and advertising, how to keep your current clients happy, and how to think about things from a marketing standpoint.

Comprehensive recorded webinars

Click here for a recorded marketing class about setting up XSellerate. It covers creating and importing contact lists, creating e-mail campaigns, and how to print out flyers that you can start using today! (30 minutes)

Click here to see more of our recorded webinars, as well as a schedule of our upcoming live classes.

With refis dropping and AMC/lender work getting more volatile, it's time to get your share of the non-lender pie. You've already taken the first big step by getting our marketing tools. However, just having them isn't enough. To reap the benefits, you'll need to work with them. That's what this page is for — to guide you through appraisal marketing and take control of your income.

Real success stories

Did you know?

Appraiser XSites had over 100 MILLION page views in the last year. Those are potential clients looking for appraisers. If you're not getting your share of the orders, it's time to customize your XSite, activate its features, and put your tools to work.